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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
It seemed like a fairly generic 19th century romance. The terminology was Russian but the situation could have been Austen or Bronte for all that.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
97th book of 2021.
3.5. Quite inferior to his Fathers and Sons but a gentle read all the same about first love. The novel was made all the gentler by my reading of it in a shepherd's hut in the middle of the countryside in Dorset. It's fairly standard of its period and of its Russian sensibility. An enjoyable and fast read. I will write a fuller review once I'm home again but really there's not much more to say about it. I've got an old copy of On the Eve by Turgenev from Badger's Books in my hometown, so I will read that as my next.
3.5. Quite inferior to his Fathers and Sons but a gentle read all the same about first love. The novel was made all the gentler by my reading of it in a shepherd's hut in the middle of the countryside in Dorset. It's fairly standard of its period and of its Russian sensibility. An enjoyable and fast read. I will write a fuller review once I'm home again but really there's not much more to say about it. I've got an old copy of On the Eve by Turgenev from Badger's Books in my hometown, so I will read that as my next.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
First Love by Ivan Turgenev was first published in 1860 and concerns the memory of the narrator’s first love. I have read that the novel is regarded as a Russian 'classic' and an important book in teaching young Russians. The conclusion itself is masterfully done, not really a surprise as such, but it does force the reader to reassess what had happened up to that point.
While the romantic tensions inherent in First Love might seem somewhat naive to present sensibilities, it has a restrained charm that makes it an enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
While the romantic tensions inherent in First Love might seem somewhat naive to present sensibilities, it has a restrained charm that makes it an enjoyable read. Highly recommended.
I don't think you have to be Russian to have seen this story in action. It's a tale that's been on repeat since the start of the human race, and I'm sure it will continue well on into the future. The young, flirty girl, who enjoys having lots of men running around after her to inflate her ego, but an inability to connect with women, and will ultimately either die young or end up as some old hysterical woman everyone mocks behind her back (in this tale, her own mother).
It is also, as the title suggests, a tale of first love, and the obsession and the crushing unrealistic nature of it all. Vladimir Petrovich is a young 16 year old naive Russian boy of a well to do family. On his summer hols, a poverty stricken, aristocratic mother and daughter move in next door. He falls head over heels with the daughter, Princess Zinaida, and simpers and sobs over her and runs about after her like a little puppy dog. All rather pathetic, but I suppose we've all had our regretable moments in our teens. Zinaida emotionally feeds off this stuff, and plays with him and a selection of other men who come fawning to her every day and strut about like little roosters, trying to look like the best man of the group. And she has them all wrapped around her little finger, quite literally in Vladimir's case. There's this wonderful bit when she's in a temper and literally yanks a tuft of hair out of his head. "She carefully straightened the torn lock, curled it around her finger and twisted it into a little ring" (p 66).
She doesn't get on with women, as I guess they are competition and can't feed her ego in the way men can. She and Vladimir's mother never get on from the word go, his mother taking an immediate dislike, and the princess being little Miss Snooty-pants whenever she pops by. In consideration of what transpires, his mother has good reason not to like the girl.
I guess we all have to learn from our mistakes, and poor old Vladimir has to have his innocence shattered with the age old lesson 'love stinks', with a galling betrayal as Zinaida trots off after the man who isn't constantly playing court to her.
Marvellous short story/novella, but my, what a character to hate! (Me being female, I guess I was never going to get along with Zinaida =) )
It is also, as the title suggests, a tale of first love, and the obsession and the crushing unrealistic nature of it all. Vladimir Petrovich is a young 16 year old naive Russian boy of a well to do family. On his summer hols, a poverty stricken, aristocratic mother and daughter move in next door. He falls head over heels with the daughter, Princess Zinaida, and simpers and sobs over her and runs about after her like a little puppy dog. All rather pathetic, but I suppose we've all had our regretable moments in our teens. Zinaida emotionally feeds off this stuff, and plays with him and a selection of other men who come fawning to her every day and strut about like little roosters, trying to look like the best man of the group. And she has them all wrapped around her little finger, quite literally in Vladimir's case. There's this wonderful bit when she's in a temper and literally yanks a tuft of hair out of his head. "She carefully straightened the torn lock, curled it around her finger and twisted it into a little ring" (p 66).
She doesn't get on with women, as I guess they are competition and can't feed her ego in the way men can. She and Vladimir's mother never get on from the word go, his mother taking an immediate dislike, and the princess being little Miss Snooty-pants whenever she pops by. In consideration of what transpires, his mother has good reason not to like the girl.
I guess we all have to learn from our mistakes, and poor old Vladimir has to have his innocence shattered with the age old lesson 'love stinks', with a galling betrayal as Zinaida trots off after the man who isn't constantly playing court to her.
Marvellous short story/novella, but my, what a character to hate! (Me being female, I guess I was never going to get along with Zinaida =) )
3.75 stars i think — a story about the all consuming nature of your first love. i really did like the book, but i guess i just couldn’t find myself picking it up again.
an insightful novel about finding out ur first love is having sexy times with your father!
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes